Pakistan’s government is set to abolish sales tax on sanitary products, in a sweeping new measure that reproductive justice advocates say could de-stigmatize ubiquitous social taboos around sexual health.
The planned withdrawal of the 18% sales tax on sanitary items and contraceptives, announced as part of the country’s fiscal budget last week, comes after a campaign for improved access to commercial period products in a nation where only a tiny proportion of woman currently use them.
Such items are “indispensable for women’s health, dignity and full participation in social activities,” said Muhammad Aurangzeb, the finance minister, on Friday.
Aurangzeb said the government would also abolish tax on contraceptives, citing the country’s “alarming” population growth. “Pakistan is the fifth-largest country in the world in terms of population,” he added. “Family planning is a top priority of the government.”
Lawyers Ahsan Jehangir Khan, 29, and Mahnoor Omer, 25, are widely credited with sparking the national discourse in Pakistan after they took the government to court in a landmark legal case urging lawmakers to remove the so-called “period tax” and categorize menstrual products as essential goods instead of luxury items.
